More information has been released regarding the Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update in a special YouTube video just a very short while ago. Alexander Sandor (Gameplay Developer) and Agnes Larsson (Lead Game Director) have let the players in on more knowledge about the development process, challenges and also, the splitting of the update into two parts. Part I which is releasing on the 8th of this month (Just a few days away) across all platforms together is a Summer release and Part II is going to be the holiday release.
Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update special: Talking points
Now it is important to understand that this is a very big update for the game. The complete world generation has been changed, the world depth and height have been changed, there’s really tall and realistic looking mountains and deep caves, new biomes and of course other cool bits like mobs and new blocks have been thrown in to make the update as fun as possible for players.
One big update instead of two
Answering a question regarding why there isn’t just one big update later this year instead of two separate ones, Alexander says that releasing a set of features in the first part allows them to focus on a subset of features and also gets across new content to eager players. This also ensures that what we get is going to be better in quality since the devs don’t have to rush things and that creates issues. Now, each feature gets the attention it deserves. Also, these times have been tough for everyone, including the dev team and their wellbeing is also being taken into account here.
The devs then talked about their favourite features – copper, which according to Lady Agnes helps tell a story and powdered snow, which Alexander as an avid skier is a fan of.
Update numbers
Another thing to note is that the first part of the update is 1.17 and the second is 1.18. This might be a little unusual since these are considered major update numbers and they used to be one big update, however considering the amount of content each one has, it makes sense.
Biomes
Talking about the biomes, the same biome can look different under different conditions. For example, the lush cave biome underground would look different from the luch cave biome on the surface. This is still being discussed and nothing on their design is final yet. The mountain generation is going to be made smoother and there will be two distinct mountain types.
The first kind is going to be hilly with a bunch of peaks while the other type would have steeper sides. Both of these actually are being recreated based on real-world mountains.
Game complexity and mechanics
Talking about whether things in the game are getting more complex, Lady Agnes says that while there’s a lot of change in the biome and game mechanics, the game will still always be the simplistic block game we know and love but with more space for exploration and creativity.
According to Alexander, development on the new caves and mountains is going pretty well but the challenge here is to combine them with the rest of the terrain so it looks smooth and not out of place. Lady Agnes also says that they’re trying to blend the old world with the new one so that even if your world is old, it would be able to combine with the newer changes and your builds won’t get impacted.
Another thing addressed was that with all the new changes, whether branch mining, a method which a majority of players use would still be a viable option. And it looks like it would! Alexander says that the goal is to incorporate newer strategies without throwing the old ones off balance.
Minecraft Future events
Another question that players had in mind is the future. Usually, the updates announced in the yearly Minecon event which takes place towards the last couple of months of the year; are introduced in the game well before the next event takes place. However, the second part of this update stretches well beyond that usual limit. Not a lot was given away regarding this, but we will have Minecraft Live this year according to Lady Agnes and more information about the future comes then.
That was about all that was revealed today. The first update releases on the 8th of June and will introduce the blocks and mobs along with a little world generation. The second part will have the main world generation and biomes.
What do you think about this Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update special? Let us know in the comments below!
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